If anyone is still reading

My apologies to you if you still read this... this blog has sucked lately. I mean totally sucked. I have been on a dry spell. I have not taken the time to be creative.

Creativity takes time. I don't know if it does for everyone, but it does for me. I have to carve out time to think. Not a lot of time, but enough that I can step out of the routine and look at things from different angles. I sometimes joke that I am a "creative black-hole." What I mean is that creativity takes some time and thought for me and I usually get into a groove of getting things done, that I don't stop to evaluate or reflect on what I'm doing.

Creativity also requires a little bit of risk. It means doing something, to some degree, in a new way. Not all creativity has to be new or novel, but for me it often times means stepping out of the comfort of my routine or thinking to take a risk with a new perspective or idea. It means writing about something I know and talk about in a different way. It means thinking about different words and phrases to describe things I've thought for a long time. It means looking for fresh and stimulating word pictures or images to replace the images that have become stale in my mind. For me, it means interacting with my "stuff" in a different way. Reading a different book, working in a different program, listening to some different music, talking to some new people. All of these things stimulate my mind and gets me thinking in ways that are helpful and productive. "Producing" for me can be the enemy of "productive."

Finally, I think creativity means a little failure. Not all the "creativity" that happens is going to be good, interesting, helpful or result in praise. But, that is ok. Taking the time to risk a little creativity will mean that I might hear, "that was ... well, weird." OK, I've done things like that. But, I want to embrace it as an opportunity to learn. Creativity leads to learning... and I love to learn. I like learning about myself, my vocation, my God, my gifts, ability. Learning has a way of making me feel alive. It is worth it.

So, this week (Thanksgiving week), I plan to read a couple of books, spend some time out of my routine praying, thinking, writing about things I don't usually take the time for. I plan to take some walks at odd times. I plan to sleep in a little. I am planning time with people I don't usually see. I'm looking forward to taking some risks. I can't wait.

I'm interested in what you do to spark creativity and what you have learned in the process... anyone?

Cake in a Mug

Want to try something fun?

How about a homemade chocolate cake in a coffee mug... in 3 minutes?

Here is the recipe:
INGREDIENTS: hot chocolate mix, flour, an egg, cooking spray, and oil
Grab the biggest microwavable coffee mug you've got in your cupboard, and cover the inside with cooking spray. Mix up four tablespoons of flour and nine tablespoons of hot chocolate mix, then throw in three tablespoons of water and oil and one egg. Once it's thoroughly mixed into an even batter, microwave for three minutes - Viola!

Here is the actual website with the directions and step-by-step guidance
Make Cake in a Mug

I'd love to know how it turns out...

Bar Stool Economics

I always enjoy reading Michael Patton's blog. Here is what he posted today. It takes a minute to read it through, but it is worth understanding.

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.’ Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too.

It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got’ ‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

An old saying...

"Be careful what you ask for..."

Saw this on Druge today.

Masquerading

I know... this really ought to be a serious post about how we all put on masks and pretend to be something we aren't... then I make some really deep spiritual point.

Well, the truth is... we were masquerading tonight - and it was a blast! Had dinner with a soon-to-be-married couple and they had these masks. We couldn't stop. It was so fun. Here are a few pictures of the evening... I will save some others for opportune times.

.ross Retro (09.30.08) - Our Anniversary

13 years ago today I married my beautiful wife. I cannot believe the roads we have traveled on this journey: graduate school, Maggie, YL staff, Sand Springs, Kirk on the Hill, private practice, seminary, Jay, paper routes, pool cleaning, Living Life, JDM, Richland Bible Fellowship, counseling (for us!), graduation, Wichita, Katherine, the cul-de-sac, Bethel, Tyler, middle school...

No one will know what every one of those things are, some of you will know some of them. Leslie - you know them all... and more. I love you.

As this goes to post, Leslie and I are in the air traveling to N.C. for a marriage retreat at the Cove with Howard Hendricks and Chip Ingram and their wives. We are looking forward to a great week.

Happy Anniversary - it is only the beginning!

"Going Green"

Michael Patton @ Parchment and Pen has a nice little rant today on "Green Evangelicals." It is well worth the read and he has captured my thoughts exactly! I am sure it will create quite a long "comments" trail.

An excerpt:

I just don’t get it. I am not saying don’t recycle. I am not saying don’t have environmental concerns (when legitimate). I am not saying don’t save a whale, monkey, frog, bumblebee, a flea, or a tree (to each his own). What I am saying is don’t speak with the same volume about these things as you do about human lives—about babies, children, the unprotected innocent souls. Don’t EVER speak with the same volume. There is a dichotomy—a biblical dichotomy. They don’t even belong in the same discussion. It is comparable to the condemnation of body odor of Osama Bin Laden while defending his terrorism. There are bigger issues. Much bigger issues.

It also appears that Thomas Nelson Publishers has gone "Green." - you have to be kidding me!

blogger decision

I wanted to quickly comment on the change of the blog address and format. I have used Apple's iLife program iWeb for most of the last year. I have kind of waited out Apple's whole move from .Mac to .Me in hopes that the program would get an update at the same time.

Not that many will care about this, but my review of the iWeb program could be summed in two words: easy and frustrating... and they are related.

The program is incredibly easy to use. It is entirely WYSIWYG and so it is very easy to make your site or blog look like you want it to. Apple does a great job with photos, movies and images - they always look stunning. And so it is so easy it is hard not to use. On the other hand, that is the same reason it is frustrating. The functionality of simple things like formatting on the post' page matching the home page does not sync. The home page will not import movies and other images from the post page. The comments are absolutely frustrating to manage.

And on top of the frustrations with the program are the frustrations with the new .Me service. Of all the things that Apple has done and I have loved... this is not one of them. The push email service is not a true push and has a difficult time syncing with iPhone of all things.

So, I turn to Google to meet my blogging needs. I love Google and continue to be impressed with the creativity they pursue... which reminds me, have you seen the SITES service?

For all who have followed me here... thanks!